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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=343553720-12062009>Consider this
graph. I lost the axis labels in the cut and paste, but the horizontal
axis is the order number of the Mersenne prime, 1 thru 47. The vertical
axis is the log of the exponent divided by log(2), so that we would expect the
primes to appear on the line shown. They did follow the expected (but
still unexplained) pattern for all of human history. Now for the
past five years, they decided to start showing up in baffling
abundance. See the last eight (and definitely the last five) on the chart
below. We had a gap big enough for seven MPs, which contained only
two. Now we have a gap big enough for two MPs, and it is crammed with
eight. Whaaaat in the helllllll is going on here?</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=343553720-12062009>spike</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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